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Nutritional status and diarrhoeal pathogen in hospitalized children in Bangladesh
N Dewan1, A S Faruque, G J Fuchs
1International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.
Insights
Young children with diarrhoea and severe malnutrition, particularly from Shigella and Vibrio cholerae O1 infections, experienced worse nutritional status. Nutritional programs may be more effective against these specific bacterial causes of diarrhoea than rotavirus.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Diarrhoea is a major cause of childhood illness and mortality globally.
- Malnutrition is highly prevalent in young children and can exacerbate infectious diseases.
- Enteropathogens are a leading cause of diarrhoea in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between nutritional status and specific enteropathogen infections in young children presenting with diarrhoea.
- To compare the severity of malnutrition among children infected with different enteropathogens.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Assessment of nutritional status including underweight, wasting, and stunting.
- Identification of enteropathogens in stool samples from children with diarrhoea.
Main Results:
- A significant proportion of children exhibited severe underweight (26%), wasting (27%), and stunting (19%).
- Children infected with Shigellae and Vibrio cholerae O1 showed significantly worse nutritional status (underweight, wasted, stunted) compared to those with rotavirus.
- Statistical significance was observed at p < 0.0001.
Conclusions:
- Severe malnutrition is common in young children with diarrhoea.
- Shigella and Vibrio cholerae O1 infections are strongly associated with poorer nutritional status in children compared to rotavirus.
- Targeted nutritional interventions may yield greater benefits for diarrhoeal diseases caused by Shigella and V. cholerae O1.
Abstract:
We studied the relationship between nutritional status and infection due to specific enteropathogens in young children with diarrhoea. Overall, 26% of the children were severely underweight, 27% were severely wasted and 19% were severely stunted. Children with Shigellae and V. cholerae O1 were significantly more severely underweight, wasted and stunted than those with rotavirus diarrhoea (p < 0.0001). Our results indicate that an effective nutrition programme for young children might have greater impact on diarrhoeal illness caused by Shigella and V. cholerae than by rotavirus diarrhoea.